People on the Peninsula facing increasing number of coyote encounters
On the Peninsula, residents say they are running into coyotes in unexpected places and note that the wild animals are becoming increasingly bold.
When Foster City resident Grace Zou goes out for a walk with her dog, Eva, she now carries a broomstick with her.
"If push comes to shove, it's better to have something than nothing," she said.
The reason? A recent walk at Shorebird Park that left her traumatized.
"I've never prayed so hard. Never screamed so hard, probably in my entire life," Zou said. "It was a touch-and-go situation. Here's a pack of predators, they are so brazen. They've already approached me. They're probably testing to see what they can and cannot do."
Zou says a pack of three coyotes surrounded her.
"They ran all the way until they were nose-to-nose with my dog. They were about one to three feet away from me and they surrounded us," she said.
She made a lot of noise and tried to make herself look big, but says the coyotes didn't budge. She didn't know what to do next, so she ran, which is not what a person is supposed to do. Once she made it closer to a group of people, she says the coyotes did back off.
"I know the attacks are rare. Thank God for that. But I know as they become less afraid, it becomes an issue," Zou said.
Although most people have not had close-up encounters with coyotes like Zou did, many people in Foster City have reported an uptick in coyote sightings and encounters. They say the animals are becoming more brazen and less afraid of people.
Several people sent CBS News Bay Area photos and videos of coyotes in Foster City, showing them in parks, along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay, and walking through neighborhoods.
The city is now ramping up messaging regarding best practices for coyote encounters and is in the process of putting up additional signage at parks and trails warning people about the presence of coyotes, per a spokesperson. The spokesperson noted they cannot definitively say there are in fact, more coyotes now than there have been before, because their data is incomplete.
Zou says she's heard about some locals losing pets to coyotes. After her experience, she says the signage doesn't go far enough.
"Having a sign that just says there are coyotes doesn't give people a sense that them and a larger dog or them and a child could be run up on by a pack," she said. "There is no kind of management towards them. They have endless food supply. They have no predators here. They're kind of just like, hanging out and making it their home."
Krysten Kellum, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, says coyotes are present in most parts of California, whether urban or rural.
"Coyotes are becoming habituated to humans," Kellum said.
She says trying to relocate coyotes is not an effective strategy.
"You can't try to take coyotes out of an area, they'll just try to make their way back," she said. "We need to teach them there is no benefit to being around a human, whether that's hazing them, making loud noises, getting big, waving your arms around, using an airhorn."
Zou says there needs to be more awareness of the issue, and, she'd like to see more action from the city and wildlife agencies.
"My biggest fear is that there will be more pet deaths or actual encounters with children," she said.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife urges people to report coyote encounters online through their website.
